Korriban

From the Codex:

A cruel planet of rocky red deserts and crumbling ruins, Korriban was the homeworld of the ancient Sith. Reclaimed by the Empire in recent decades, it is now the site of the Sith Academy, where the Dark Council oversees the training of new acolytes. Only Sith may come and go freely from the academy, and for a non-Sith to visit Korriban is a great privilege.

Surrounding the academy are the tombs of the first Dark Lords. Used as testing grounds by the academy overseers, the tombs remain filled with traps, monstrosities and relics, even millennia after their construction–along with the bodies of a generation of failed acolytes.

Tython

From the Codex:

 The mysterious Deep Core world of Tython is the birthplace of the Jedi Order. Millennia ago, Tythonian warriors and scholars developed a unique mystic and martial philosophy while studying the Force. Today, their Jedi descendants excavate ancient Tythonian ruins and relearn what was lost.

 After the recent destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Jedi made their new home on Tython. The mountainous planet remains mostly unexplored, and the violent natives pose a constant threat. The order remains committed to rebuilding here, however, and is now training a new generation of Padawans.

Legend

Here we are.
This legend can help you to better understand the maps.

 All the maps have been created controlling each pixel, but, due to the large amount of details to insert, there could be some errors. So, if you notice some mistakes, I invite you to let me know that and I will fix it as soon as possible. If you have also any suggestions, I will be happy to hear them!

 The first map will be the planet infested by the Flesh Raiders, as well as the departure planet of the Jedi classes: Tython!

The Old Republic

May the 4th.

The perfect day to enlighten you on my small, big project.

 As you can see from the title, it will focus on the video game The Old Republic, a MMORPG developed by BioWare Austin, and released on December 20, 2011. Its production costs was around $200 million, and at its launch it reached 1 million subscribers. Later it was necessary to make it free-to-play, and it still is, despite the premium mode offering many advantages, generating many debates that I don't want to discuss now.

 What interests me and has amused me innumerable hours, are the stories and the lore released on the 17 planets that were available at its launch. Although there were many websites, even thought they were very well made, no one was able to offer me a full view of every secret, every collectable, not even a complete map of the various planets. Even the official guide left much to be desired.

 So I started to make a personal version of the maps, gathering all the necessary data from the fan sites and personally playing all the classes, taking note of every codex I collected, every creature I defeated. It took countless hours to fill out those data into something graphically satisfying, and for a long time I also left the project, not appreciating the new narrative direction that took the game.

  Now, thinking about it, I believe it's a pity not to conclude what I started. I still have a lot of work to do, but with your support and with my refound enthusiasm, I hope that all of you can appreciate my efforts.

May the Force be with us!

The explorer's best friend

 A player that wants to explore each recess of a level will need a trusted map, as well as an explorer has his own map to venture into unknown lands, to navigate through that pixel-made world.

 Creating an accurate map of a new dungeon or a realm is not a piece of cake because it requires to get your hands dirty: you'll have to die countless times looking for any possible danger to warn future travelers pushing yourself over the edges of deserted and unknown lands or climbing up to impetuous mountains; you will also have to run into blind alleys, in order to prevent others from wasting their time.

 But this work also brings enormous satisfaction, such as discovering a lost treasure, maybe an incredible powerful weapon, or finding an Easter egg left by some prankster and hilarious developer.

 This has always been a challenge for most of the cartographers since the beginning of time and only the boldest ones succeeded, from Zelda and Super Mario games, through Metroid and Castlevania, arriving to the modern games with maps that are the center of the gaming experience, such as Skyrim, Fallout, The Witcher, Dark Souls, Far Cry, GTA and so many more.

And soon I will tell you my personal challenge.

Why Xenomysteries?

Why Xenomysteries?

 Since the beginning, humanity has always been attracted by the desire of discovery, and it has struggled with the fear of the unknown, expanding and conquering unabated.
Even now, we can pursue this unconscious impulse from the comfort of our house, escaping the monotony of our lives thanks to comic books, to adventure books, to movies and TV series, but above all thanks to video games.
With a video game we can explore distant planets in a galaxy far, far away, we can venture into the ruins of a lost city under the sea, we can hunt a ferocious Fiend in the forests of the Empire of Nilfgaard, and we can also fight unstoppable zombies infected by the fungus Cordyceps.
Real or imaginary, we will never stop to cultivate our passion for the adventures and the discovery.

 That's why Xenomysteries, because the Xenos, the stranger, the alien, will always bring with it new and amazing Mysteries to be discovered.
If you will follow me, there's a whole new universe full of unfathomable mysteries and you only need to be carried away by your imagination and open your mind to the unknown.